Invitation to a Media breakfast Launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2011
When? 6 July 2011, 10.00-11.30a.m. Where? International Press Centre, Club room, rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 155 What? UN MDG report 2011 Who? Nicola Harrington-Buhay, Director a.i. UN/UNDP Office Brussels, Gemmo Lodesani, Director WFP and Philippe Cori, Director UNICEF. Background and Highlights of the report: The Millennium Development Goals Report reflects the most comprehensive, up-to-date data compiled by over 25 UN and international agencies and is produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The 2011 edition shows that, since world leaders in the year 2000 established the Goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease, MDGs have helped to lift millions of people out of poverty, save lives and ensure that children attend school. They have reduced maternal deaths, expanded opportunities for women, increased access to clean water and freed many people from deadly and debilitating disease. Progress, however, has been uneven, and there are still too many people being left behind, the report notes. Despite major improvements, large gaps remain between and within countries, and efforts need to be intensified. The report shows that the poorest children have made the slowest progress in terms of
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Invitation to a Media breakfast Launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2011
improved nutrition and survival. While stressing that achieving the MDGs largely depends on ensuring women’s empowerment and equal opportunities for women and men, girls and boys, the report also shows that achieving this goal remains a long way off. The report finds that opportunities for full and productive employment remain particularly slim for women. Following significant job losses in 2008-2009, the growth in employment that occurred during the economic recovery in 2010, especially in the developing world, was lower for women than for men. Advances in sanitation, the report says, often bypass the poor and those living in rural areas. More than 2.6 billion people still lack access to toilets or other forms of improved sanitation. And where progress has occurred, it has largely skipped the poor. In Southern Asia, for instance, sanitation coverage for the poorest 40 per cent of households has hardly increased between 1995 and 2008. Information kits will be available at the press briefing The document is embargoed till 7 July 13:00h GMT The report will be presented in English. Other languages for one-on-one interviews: French, Italian, Spanish. For more information, please contact: Jean-Luc Onckelinx, UNRIC, +32 476 215 485 onckelinx@unric.org Alexandra Froger, UNRIC, + 32 2 788 84 61 froger@unric.org Please confirm your participation to this event by sending an email to froger@unric.org
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